This past weekend the theatre department put on their final production, 0-60. This show featured six ten-minute plays. All were student written, directed and produced. The production had a good balance of funny, serious and unexpected pieces.
The first piece was "Missed Exit," written by Nina Masfield and directed by Chad Carroll. In this scene the family was traveling to a wedding. The set had this neat set up on wheels that actually looked like a car. It looked a little interesting at first, but soon into the scene it just melted right into the acting and seemed realistic, at least to me. The passengers in the car are fighting over the GPS directions. The GPS keeps slipping in little pieces of advice and criticism along the way.
Finally, the family reaches their destination. The GPS criticizes the mom for having trust issues, the dad for being blind, one of the girls in the back for drinking beer, the other girl for being.well.not the nicest girl and the boy for putting up with the mean girl. This scene was very funny. The bickering over the directions was very realistic and the GPS criticizing them was hilarious. I am familiar with some of these actors and although I had trouble following how the passengers in the back seat were connected the piece overall was good.
The second piece was "Normal is a Country," written by Steven Schutzmen and directed by Carissa Ruf. The son has just come home from war. He has a wound on his face and is clearly suffering mentally. He has a skewed sense of relationships. Both actors did a really good job with this scene. It seems very difficult to pull off, especially since it would most likely be such unknown territory for Kyle Butler, who played the son.
The third piece was "Not Funny," written by Christopher Lockheardt and directed by Andrew Candea. This was by far my favorite production. It opens in a kitchen. A guy is on the floor with a knife in his chest. His girlfriend is standing over him. He looks at her and says, "I get your point." The girlfriend is furious because she just stabbed him and he is cracking jokes. He apologizes but it is clear he has no idea what he is apologizing for. This flirty, witty banter is adorable. Justin Heavner and Jenna Hallet worked well together. I saw Justin in "Crimes of the Heart" and I thought he was amazing in that production. He continues to deliver outstanding performances and I cannot wait to see what he has in store for next year.
The fourth piece was "Something More Than This," written by La'Chris Jordan and directed by Andrea Candea. I found this piece to be particular interesting, probably because it focused on a journalist. A young journalist has come to talk with a famous woman who rarely grants interviews. The journalist starts by gently prying for information, and then eventually presents evidence that the woman had given birth. After a bit of arguing it comes out that the journalist is the abandoned child. At the end of the scene the woman calls the journalist back and they sit on the couch together. This is an incredibly touching story. I am not familiar with these actors but they did a good job conveying the overwhelming emotion this situation would have.
The fifth piece was "Beige Tea," written by Dusty Wilson and directed by Chad Carroll. This is a simple living room set. The daughter has returned, letting herself into the house with a key. She talks to the audience a lot about growing up. Her father repeatedly comes in and leaves, and the interaction between them is very stiff and forced. Eventually it comes out that the daughter stabbed her mother to death and had just recently been released from custody. The father is not very interested in a relationship with his daughter, although he does accept a hug from her. I am not familiar with these actors at all, but I feel like the scene had more potential for emotion. Maybe they were going for the simpler mood, but I think more could have been done with the scene.
The sixth and final piece was "Foreplay," written by Neil Ferron and directed by Katy Morgan. This has a young child sitting on her bed, playing with plastic dolls. Stephanie Tripper and Nathan Epstein acted out everything the child did with the dolls, including the sexually driven scenes. Both were in a nude body suit and acted out everything. I still have yet to figure out how I feel about this scene. Part of me loves the scene and I cannot deny that they did a fabulous job. The other part of me is like I cannot believe that just happened. Stephanie did a wonderful job as always. Nathan is a friend of mine, and let's just say that I never thought I would see him in a nude body suit acting out sex scenes and liking the neck of a young child. Intrigued? Maybe you should have gone to see the show.
Don't worry; the theatre department is already planning their production for next year. The Rotunda will be sure to announce the upcoming performances on our calendar page, so make sure you check it out.
